Mapping the Psyche Vol. II

An Introduction to Psychological Astrology, by Clare Martin

Volume II: The Planetary Aspects and the Houses of the Horoscope

The twelve houses

Now that we have looked at how the twelve houses are constructed
in the first place, we can consider how each house describes different
ways in which we engage with the world. Every area of experience and
every relationship we will ever have are right there in our own birth
charts, with each house describing a particular kind of relationship,
as you can see from this table. The planets in each house and the condition
of the planets ruling each of these houses will describe the quality
of these kinds of relationships in our lives. Now have a look at this
overview of the types of activities we will be engaged in, and the
people we are likely to meet in each of the twelve houses.

Nature and nurture

Before we look at each of the houses individually, it
is worth saying a bit more about the relationship between individual
perception and external reality. It is clear from our birth charts
that we are not blank slates when we are born. Rather, we are born
with our pattern already complete, which means that we are inherently
attuned to perceive and process our experiences and our relationships
according to the inbuilt frequency and resonance of our birth charts.
Imagine, for example, that you are discussing your mother with your
brother. Logically, we would expect you to have similar or even identical
impressions of her since, objectively speaking, she is the same person.
But it is our own perceptions and experiences, rather than her 'objective
reality', which are found in our birth charts, so it is likely that
each of you sees her rather differently.

As you can see from the tables above, it is the 10th house that describes
our relationship to our mother and our contribution to the world. Say,
for example, that you have Jupiter in the 10th house and your brother
has Saturn in the 10th house. This would indicate that your perception
of your mother is that she is philosophical, gregarious, and popular,
that she encourages you to believe in your potential for success, that
she opens up the world for you and broadens your horizons. Your brother,
on the other hand, is more likely to perceive her as a figure of authority,
a woman who carries responsibility at work, someone who is strict and
demands that he work hard in order to achieve success and respect in
the world, leaving nothing to chance.

The interesting question here is, which of you is right? From an astrological
viewpoint, the people in our lives are a reflection of who we are.
'They are our mirrors, reflecting back to us not only what we consider
positive about ourselves, but also what we are unconscious of, or reject
in ourselves.' [4]This means
that no relationship is possible which is not already indicated somewhere
in our birth chart. According to the law of resonance, we can only
perceive something if we have a corresponding vibration. 'Anything
which lies outside our capacity to resonate cannot be perceived by
us and therefore does not exist for us.' [5]Resonance can either be sympathetic, an affinity with another person
or thing, or it can be antipathetic, an aversion to another person
or thing. This is why the external world and other people are the most
reliable source of information about ourselves.

Going back to this particular example, you are more likely to elicit
a warm, positive, and enthusiastic response from your mother, whereas
your brother is more likely to elicit from your mother a strict and
rather more demanding response. And it is highly likely that your mother
will have both these themes in her own chart, although your experience
of her will be determined by your own charts.

Time and space

No doubt you can see straight away that there is a natural
affinity between the twelve signs of the zodiac, starting with Aries,
and the twelve houses of the horoscope, starting with the 1st house.
They are not the same thing but, since the signs describe a temporal
cycle and the houses describe a spatial cycle, the two systems can
be superimposed upon each other because, in astrology, every cycle
has the same intrinsic meaning.

Audience: So we have two systems which are similar but not the same.
Can you say a bit more about that?

Clare: Yes, that was a fairly broad statement. The cycle of the zodiac
is temporal, because the signs are an expression of the annual, seasonal
cycle of the Sun's changing relationship with the earth - so it is
a cycle defined by time. Just as the Sun always moves in one direction
- through time, from Aries all the way through to Pisces before beginning
again a year later - we also develop temporally, but our sphere of
consciousness also develops spatially, from our totally subjective
awareness in the 1st house, through our developing awareness of our
family, of others and of the world, right through to the point where
we become totally merged with all of human experience in the 12th house.
So there is a natural progression in both signs and houses that reflects
our development through time and space. In practice, we are working
with both these dimensions simultaneously. This means, for example,
that no matter which planets are in our 5th house or which planet rules
our 5th house of creative self expression, this house will always be
naturally associated with the sign of Leo and its 'natural ruler' will
always be the Sun. Hopefully you are still with me at this stage?

Audience: Yes, that does make sense. It is like doing a three-dimensional
sudoko puzzle.

Clare: Exactly right. With the introduction of houses, we are in
fact adding a third dimension to our astrology. We are moving beyond
the simple 'what' and 'how' of the planets and signs, and adding the
'where' of the houses, so we have to hold three different factors in
our minds all the time.

"Mapping
the Psyche, Volume 2"

Mapping the Psyche, Volume II, a transcript of the second term of Clare
Martin's introductory course in astrology given for the Centre for Psychological Astrology,
explores the planetary aspects and the houses of the horoscope.
Clare looks at polarities, the Moon's nodes and both major and
minor aspects. She also discusses missing elements and aspects.
Mapping the Psyche Vol. II is the sequel to Clare's highly acclaimed
volume 1, which features the planets and zodical signs.

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